Changed
by Jacqlynn-Frost
Summary: What happens when a girl accidentally discovers the secret world in which the fables live? Can they trust her with this secret or should they just cut their losses? Set post game. Bigby/OC. Rated M.
1. A mundy and a toad walk into a bar

**A/N Hey everyone! This is the first fanfic I've done for this series, but I recently started replaying the game and I really wanted to write something like this. It's going to be a post game story. Also, huuuuge chance of ooc-ness, and probably a lot of grammar errors... Anyways, enjoy the first chapter!**

* * *

 ***Rieka's POV*  
**

I glance over the want add section of the news paper once more before I sigh and lean back in my chair. I've been staring at this damn thing for over twenty minutes now and I still couldn't find a job that I'm even close to qualified for. Which really sucks because rent is due in three weeks and I'm down to my last fifty bucks. I mentally kick myself for rage quitting my job without thinking about the future consequences. Of course at the time I wasn't really thinking about anything else besides how much my douche of a boss was screwing me over.

I look back down at the paper in front of me and groan. I can feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. I'm not going to get anywhere with the job hunt unless I take a break and get some fresh air. I get up from the table and walk towards the door. My apartment is pretty small so it only takes about five minutes to reach the door. I pull on my black heeled boots and grab my keys off of the nightstand by the door. I flick the lights off and walk out into the hallway.

After I lock the door I walk down the hallway to the elevator. I push the button and cross my arms as I wait. Once it arrives and the doors slide open I step in and press the button for the lobby. The ride down is short. Thankfully the lobby is empty so I don't have to worry about getting a contact high from one of my neighbors. I walk quickly through the front doors of the building and into the cooling night air.

I take a deep, cleansing breath before I start walking down the street. I keep my eyes focused on the street in front of me to avoid catching the attention of sketchy people that like to hang out around here. Usually they leave you alone as long as you don't seem to take an interest in what ever it is that they're doing. Unless your buying that is. I prefer to mind my own business anyway, but I always have a can of pepper spray and a nasty right hook just in case things go south.

As I walk I try not to think about my impending evection notice to no avail. I could probably get my landlord to give me a few extra days to come up with the rent. But that doesn't account for shit unless I can get a job in the next week. I've applied to everywhere with a help wanted sign in the front window, but I've heard from none of them. It was mostly shitty paying jobs anyway. If all else fails I guess I could try to get my family to help me out. Of course I'd have to beg at their feet, but I'd rather do that then be out on the street with no food.

All of a sudden I feel a drop of water hit my forehead and then another hit my bare arm. I look up at the sky and swear under my breath. Of course it's going to rain. I quickly turn around and start walking back towards my apartment as it steadily begins to rain harder. I move closer to the walls of the buildings I'm walking along side in hopes that they will somewhat help shield me from the onslaught of water. They don't and within minutes I'm practically soaked.

I curse out loud and start looking around for some sort of shelter I can use until the storm lightens up. I didn't bother putting on a jacket before leaving the apartment, and I sure as shit didn't want to add having a cold on top of job hunting. I'm pretty much jogging down the street looking for something to duck under. That's when I see it. A neon 'Open' sign hanging on the side of the building.

Without wasting to much time I make my way down the steps to the door. I pull on the handle and thankfully it opens. I close my eyes and let out a sigh of relief as I step into the dry building. The door closes behind me with a soft thud. I open my eyes and see that I've stumbled into a dive bar. There are a few pool tables, a dart board, some crappy music playing in the back ground, and an overall grungy atmosphere. Not the worst place I've ever seen.

That's when I notice the people hanging out at the bar, all of whom are now staring at me. A girl with light, purple tinted hair is behind the bar looking me up and down with a grimace on her face. I can't tell if she's pissed that I'm dripping all over the floor or if it's just because I'm in the bar itself. Sitting on a stool to the left is a guy with black hair and a dingy brown coat on. He looks at me for a few more seconds before turning back around. The only other person in the bar is some guy with a bald head and a red beard. Even sitting down he's taller than me. At least this guy's not giving me the stink eye.

I suddenly feel pretty uncomfortable, but I try to shake it off as I walk over to the bar. Sitting on the stool farthest away from the two guys, I bring my attention to the women tending the bar. She's wearing a brown halter top dress that ends inches above her knees. She also has a couple of brown bracelets on that complement her dress. But I'm more drawn to the tattoo that's across her chest. I can see half a butterfly poking out from under her dress followed by two streams of ink that flow across her chest and around her shoulder.

"Are you going to order somethin' or just sit there all night?" The women says with an irritated tone. I look back up at her face which is still glaring at me, and try to smile politely. I'm not exactly looking to piss someone off tonight, or to get into a bar fight.

"One red headed slut, and a sex on the beach please." I ask her in a cool tone. She quickly makes the drinks and sets them down in front of me. I pull some money out of my back pocket and put it on the bar in front of her. She glances me over once more before taking the money and moving farther away from where I'm sitting.

I quickly take the shot to steady myself. I set the shot glass back onto the bar and grab the other drink. Then I spin around and lean my back against the bar to avoid any more dirty looks the bartender might throw my way. I cross one leg over the other and take a sip of the cocktail. I may be stuck here waiting for the storm to let up for awhile, so I might as well try to have some fun.

* * *

 ***Bigby's POV***

It had been a long fucking day at the office. In the aftermath of the crooked man incident it seems that all of fable town was loosing it's mind. But I couldn't really blame anyone for going a little crazy. Once the whole story had come out everyone was shocked by it. Still didn't make the job any easier though. I was getting nonstop calls, and the line outside my office was almost never ending. Not to even mention the piles of paper work I still had to do about that case and all the smaller ones that it left in it's wake.

It was only until about an hour ago that Snow shooed away all of the people sitting outside. She came in looking as tired as I felt, but still smiling. I guess she was just happy to have that whole thing behind us. We exchanged a few words before she told me good night and left me to my paper work. Usually I don't mind the little paper work I get, but I've been getting triple that amount in the past couple of weeks. And after an hour or so of nonstop paper work my brain is just about fried. I can't stand to stare at this shit anymore. So I get up and walk out of the office door. I don't bother turning off the light.

I need a drink after today. I debate going back to my apartment, but decide against it. I need hard alcohol, which I'm out of at my place. So I make my way out of the building and flag down a taxi once I'm on the street. I slide into the back seat and the driver the address. I relax a little as we start heading in the direction of the Trip Trap bar. I focus on the wiper blades moving back and forth across the window in an attempt to clear the water that was pounding against the windshield. Before I know it the taxi pulls up in front of the bar.

I get out of the cab and hand some money to the driver. He pulls away from the curb as I make my way inside the bar. Holly looks towards me as I walk through the door before going back to wiping down the counter. Gren glares at me over his shoulder before tending to his drink once again. There's not much of a reaction from Woody besides a drunken look. That's when I notice a girl I've never seen before sitting at the far end of the bar.

The girl is wearing a dark purple tank top, a pair of blue jeans, and black heeled boots. She has black hair with a slightly red tint to it pulled back into a loose ponytail. A few strands of hair have fallen out and now frame her face. She has brilliant dark blue eyes which are now looking me up and down. I wonder who this girl is as I walk over to the bar. I pull up a seat in between her and Gren and wait patiently for Holly to come over.

"What do you want Bigby." Holly says with an aggravated tone. I let out a soft chuckle to myself.

"I'm not here to start anything Holly. I just want a drink or two. That okay?" I ask as she walks over.

"Fine. What do you want?" She asks.

"Anything hard." I say back. She rolls her eyes before grabbing a glass and filling it with bourbon. I take the drink and sip it slowly before giving her the money. Then I look to my left at the girl again. She's leaning back against the bar with a drink in her hand. She's sipping it nervously while looking deep in thought. Not wanting to disturb her I turn my attention back to Holly.

"Who's the girl?" I ask.

"She just came in and ordered a drink. Been sitting there for about twenty minutes now." Holly says as she shrugs the question off. Then she walks to the other end of the bar and starts talking to Woody about something or another.

I take another sip of my drink and then look back at the girl. I'm pretty sure if Holly knew more about her she wouldn't tell me. Holly just likes to be difficult that way. So I guess if I want to know more about her I'll have to talk to her. I pick the drink up off of the bar and move closer to the girl. She looks up at me as I sit down beside her but other wise she doesn't object. I casually take another drink before I turn to look at her again.

"So, what's your name?" I ask her.

"Um, it's Reika." She says. I smile at her and extend my hand towards her. She stares down at it for a second before she timidly extends her own hand.

"Bigby. Nice to meet you." I tell her. She pulls her hand away and takes another sip of her drink. After a few seconds go by and she doesn't respond I try starting a conversation again.

"So, what's you're story?" I ask, hoping that she'll open up a little.

"What do you mean?" She ask as she tilts her head to the side.

"How did you find out about this place?" I ask. It seems harmless enough. She sighs and turns back around to face the bar. She puts her now empty glass on the bar in front of her before she responds.

"I got caught in the rain and just jumped into the first open business I could." She explains. I nod as Holly comes up and asks if she wants another one. She nods politely and then pays for it. "Is it still raining out there?" She asks after Holly hands her the drink. I scratch my chin and nod.

"Yea. It's still pouring down pretty bad. Do you live around here?" I ask. She nods to my question.

"I live just a block down. Normally I would have just ran home, but I can't risk catching a cold right now." She says before taking a swig. I hear the door opening behind us, but I pay it no mind. It's probably just Jack coming in to stir some shit up. I'd stop him before anything went to far.

"Why not?" I ask her. But she doesn't respond. Instead she's speechlessly staring over her shoulder with a horrified expression on her face. I look over at the door and curse aloud. There standing in all of his four foot glory is a soaking wet Mr. Toad without a glamour.

* * *

 **A/N Bad Toad. Baaaad. lol  
Anyway ****There's the first chapter. Sorry if it was kind of boring, but I promise the story will pick up soon. I hope you've enjoyed it, reviews are always welcome, and remember to always stay awesome!**


	2. Forget me not

**A/N Hi guys! I'm back with the second chapter of the story. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 ***Rieka's POV***

I stare at the creature standing in the doorway feeling completely horrified. What the hell is that thing!? This can't actually be real. I must be having a mental break down or some shit, because there is no fucking way that this is really happening. I force my eyes close for a second, hoping that when I open them that thing will be gone. But I've never been that lucky. When my eyes open I find myself staring at the same thing. Next to me I hear Bigby swear under his breath before he stands up and stalks over to the frog like creature.

"Toad.." Bigby practically growls out. I can see the creature, Toad, grimace and slightly cower as the taller man approaches. Toad looks like he might try to run back out the door, but after another threatening growl from Bigby he obviously deciders against it. I don't here much of what they're saying now as they talk in hush agitated tones. There are a few gestures made in my general direction, but I'm honestly too scared to ask what they're talking about.

My heart is hammering in my chest as I stand up and I can already feel the adrenaline pumping through my body. I need to get out of here and as far away from these people as I can. I have a feeling that I'm not going to just be able to walk past these two and out the front door. At least, not without a fight anyway. Maybe I could run into the bathroom and call the police after I've locked the door? No.. The police would probably assume I'm just some junkie tripping. That or I'm a prank caller. Either way I'd still be stuck here without any real help.

So it seems like the only real option I have is to get out of the front door and run. I take a quick look around the room. Most of the people at the bar aren't watching me which is good. But in the back of my head I know that once I start moving for that door someone is going to start yelling that I'm trying to run. So I'll have to be quick. I can't stand to be in this room one second longer, so I throw caution to the wind and rush towards the door.

Just as I predicted someone is shouting behind me. But I don't stop to figure out what there saying or who's saying it. Instead I focus on getting out of this bar. I don't know exactly how, but I manage to get outside into the pouring rain without anyone catching me. But I can't stop now. Without looking back I run as hard and fast as I can towards my apartment. In my adrenaline induced haze I didn't notice the footsteps pounding behind me until it was too late.

* * *

 ***Bigby's POV***

I reach out and grab Rieka by the arm, jerking her to a stop. She struggles against my grasp and tries to yank her arm free. I tighten my grip a little but I try not to hurt her. I just want to talk to her and maybe convince her to come back to the main office with me. I can tell she's scared out of her mind but I can't let her go after she saw Toad without his glamour. I just can't. There's too much at stake for that. I have no other choice but to wait until she calms down a little so I can talk to her.

She begins to beat her free hand against my chest as she screams at me to let her go. Luckily there's no other mundies around to call the police. I consider trying to dodge the blows but decide against it. In order to avoid being hit I'd have to let her go, and I really don't want to try and chase her down again. After about ten minutes or so she begins to tire out and eventually she stops hitting me all together. She tilts her face up to look at me and I can clearly see the look of hatred on her face.

"Just fucking do it already." She says. I furrow my eyebrows together. Just what exactly does she think I'm going to do to her?

"I just want to talk to you for awhile, alright?" I say gruffly. I'm taken back when she lets out a sharp laugh.

"Yeah, I bet that's what they all say. The next thing you know you're an obituary in the next days paper." She bites back bitterly. Realization dawns on me.

"Listen, I'm not going to kill you. But I do need to talk to you about what you just saw." I tell her. She still looks extremely skeptical.

"Are you going to threaten me to stay quite or something? Because if that's the case you don't have to worry. I can assure you that I will _not_ be talking about this to anyone." She says. She tries to yank her wrist back once again, but I hold it firmly.

"You don't understand. I can't just let you go like this." I tell her. "If you'd just come with me to my office then we can talk." She doesn't respond at first. I can tell from her expressions that she's debating what to do. After a few seconds I open my mouth to ask her to come with me again when she speaks.

"If I go with you and 'talk' then can I go home?" She asks. She no longer looking at me, but I nod anyway.

"I promise that you won't be hurt as long as you cooperate." I tell her. She sighs in defeat.

"Fine. Let's go."

* * *

 ***At Bigby's office.*  
**

Rieka sits down uncomfortably in the chair across from me. I can tell from her body langue that she's still fighting the urge to run again. She rubs her wrist, which is probably sore from earlier, as I pick up the phone. I punch in Snow's number and look over at the clock on the wall as the phone rings. 2:36 Am. Snow is not going to be happy when she answers.

"Yes?" Snow's groggy voice rings out after a couple of seconds.

"Snow, it's me. I need you to come down to my office." I tell her.

"Is this something that could possibly wait until the morning?" She asks hopefully.

"I'm afraid not." I say, lighting a cigarette.

"What's going on Bigby?" She asks, clearly irritated.

"You'll understand when you get here." I say and hang up the phone. I take a long drag as I look at Rieka again. She's barely made a sound since she agreed to come with me to the office. Her blue eyes are darting around the room. It's obvious that she's still stressed out, but I don't blame her. In fact she seems to be handling this whole situation reasonably well, all things considered.

Rieka turns in her chair as we hear the clicking of Snow's shoes in the hallway outside. I don't know who she expected to walk through that door, but it obviously wasn't Snow. Rieka sighs in slight relief as her eyes look up at Snow, who is now standing in the doorway looking irritated. Snow's irritated expression turns to confusion however when she looks at the obvious Mundy girl sitting in front of her.

"What's going on?" Snow asks cautiously.

"Snow, this is Rieka. Rieka, I'd like you to meet Snow White." I say. The two of them look at each other for a moment.

"Nice to meet you?" Snow says. She looks at me again. "Bigby what happened?" She asks. I quickly tell her about the events leading up to this moment.

"So if she's here, where's Toad?" Snow asks.

"I had to leave him there. It couldn't be avoided Snow. I'll track him down as soon as I can and put him on the first available ride to the farm." I reassure her.

"So, you're name's Rieka?" Snow asks, giving her full attention to the problem that's in front of her.

"Yea." Rieka responds. She crosses her arms over her chest and leans back in the chair. "So, what are you guys going to do with me?" She asks.

"It will be decided shortly. Bigby will you please step out into the hallway with me?" Snow asks. She sounds tense. I look at Rieka before nodding. Snow and me exit my office before Snow shuts the door firmly behind us.

"What's up Snow?" I ask.

"I would normally suggest erasing the girls memory. Unfortunately the witches need a few days at least to prepare a spell like that. Crane used the last one they had when you got taken by Mundie cops." Snow said, rubbing her temples.

"I remember. What should we do with Rieka until then?" I ask.

"We'll have to keep her here until the witches are ready. But it can't be in the offices. To many Fables come in and out of here." She says. I nod, understanding completely. We don't need all of the community knowing about this. I don't want to put her down in the cell unless I absolutely have to. I might need to hold someone else there and moving Rieka would be a pain in the ass.

There has to be somewhere that we can keep her for a few days where nobody will be suspicious. But my exhausted mind isn't really coming up with any solutions to the problem right now. One look at Snow and I can tell that she's in the same boat as me. I sigh and lean against the wall. I'm going to have to try really hard not to kill Toad when I track his ass down. Snow pinches the bridge of her nose in-between her fingers before she looks back up at me.

"Any ideas?" I ask her. She starts shaking her head but stops short. I can see the theoretical light bulb go off in her head.

"Bigby, would you consider letting her stay in your apartment until this can get sorted out?" Snow asks, but I know that the decision was already made in Snows mind. Might as well just go along with it.

"I don't feel like I'd have a choice either way." I tell her. "At least I can keep a better eye on her there." I comment before opening the door to my office. We both step back in and I brace myself. Convincing Rieka to stay in a strangers apartment against her will for a few days is going to be a pain in the ass. Here we go.

* * *

 **A/N And there you have it folks. I know that it may not be the most entertaining start to this little fic, but I hope that you guys enjoy it anyway. I promise that this will start picking up soon. Anyway, leave a review and Stay Awesome!**


	3. Home Sweet Prison

**A/N Hello everyone! Thank you all for the reviews! ^.^ They mean a lot to me, and they really help me keep going. So thanks guys. Anyway, here's the third chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 ***Rieka's POV*  
*Bigby's apartment*  
**

I step inside of the small apartment and stand by the door as Bigby closes it. I don't bother trying to hide how uncomfortable I probably look. I had come somewhat willingly, but I don't think that I would have had a choice anyway. Snow White made it pretty clear that this was the way things were going to happen. I shudder a little to myself as I think about what these people might do if I tried to fight them in any way whatsoever.

Bigby passes me and turns sharply left into a small kitchen. He turns on a faucet and splashes some water over his face. While he does that I look at my makeshift prison cell. There's not much furniture and what is here seems to be worse for wear and tear. I can smell old nicotine lingering in the air as well as a hint of beer. The wallpaper is peeling off of the walls, and the entire apartment seems poorly lit.

I cautiously move away from the door and walk further into the small apartment. With a few short steps I walk into the living/dining room. There's a small window at the far side of the room with an air conditioner in it. There's a few empty take-out containers scattered around the room. On a stand with a phone I see a few files. I wonder what sort of terrible secrets they hold inside of them. But then again, I probably don't want to know.

"Hey." Bigby says a little too loudly. I jump at the sudden noise and turn around to see him leaning against the wall that separates the kitchen and this room. I suddenly realize that I must have been spacing out and mentally slap myself. I have to stay on my guard in case they decide that offing me would be easier for everyone. I wonder if I could actually do anything to stop them if they _did_ decide to kill me. Who knows what sort of powers these guys have to use at their will.

"Um.. Yes?" I say back to him after a moment. I try not to let my voice convey how nervous I am, but I'm not sure if it worked. Bigby doesn't seem to notice anything, so I let it go.

"Are you hungry?" He asks. "I think that a few places might still be open. I can call and get some food if you want." He offers. I look down at the ground and shake my head. I don't think I could eat anything right now. I look back up when I hear a gruff sigh.

"Look, you're going to be here for a few days at least. I know that you're probably not excited about that, and I am sorry that you've been dragged into this. But starving yourself out isn't going to change anything. You might as well try to make yourself comfortable." He says before he moves towards the phone. "Now it's either Chinese or pizza." He tells me. I stare at him for a few seconds before my brain registers that he wants me to pick one.

"Pizza." I say quietly. He nods and picks up the phone. Bigby gives the person on the other end short responses. He tells them the address and then hangs up. He looks at me before walking back into the kitchen. I hear the fridge open before it closes again. Bigby reappears holding two beers. He walks towards me and holds out one of the beers. I take it from him without much fuss.

Bigby was partially right. I am stuck here, and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't let my guard down too much, but I probably should try to make the best of the situation. Maybe I can even learn more about what the hell is going on here. I'm not sure how willing Bigby will be when it comes to answering my questions, but he's been pretty nice so far. That is if you ignore the fact that I'm here against my will.

He walks into the living room and sits in an arm chair. As he lights a cigarette I look around the apartment for something to sit on. I don't think I can stand here all night. I settle on dragging one of the kitchen table chairs into the living room. I drag the chair next to the window and sit down. Then I open up the beer and take a small sip while I try and figure out how to even start a conversation. I swear that my brain is fried.

"So.. um.." I mumble. "Can I.. uh.. ask a few questions?" I ask. Bigby flicks the ashes off of his cigarette before he responds.

"I suppose that wouldn't hurt. Ask away." He says. I'm partially surprised at how easy that was but I brush it off. Instead I focus on figuring out what I should ask him first. I have a lot of questions, but I still don't want to push too much in the wrong direction. Just in case things go south. So I decide on what I deem a simple question.

"Who are you? I mean, I know who Snow White is but.." I trail off. He takes another swig of beer before answering.

"You mean which story, or should I say stories, am I from?" He asks, and I nod. "Let's see. Three little pigs, red riding hood..." He pauses trying to think of other stories, but I don't need anymore. There's only one thing connecting those two stories.

"You're the big bad wolf?" I ask in a tone of disbelief before I can stop myself.

"Why do you seem so surprised?" He asks, and I swear I hear a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I just can't picture you in grandma's nightgown." I say sarcastically. He gives me an amused smirk.

"I like to think I pulled it of rather well actually." He responds. A small laugh escapes my throat as I suddenly picture this guy in a bright pink nightgown. "Okay, next question." He says after a few minutes. I take another sip of beer before speaking.

"What is it exactly that you do?" I ask. I'm curious about the man that's pretty much holding me hostage. It might not hurt to get to know him a little better.

"I'm the sheriff of this community. My job is to keep everyone from killing each other. I also try my best to stop things like tonight from happening." He says. I sour a little bit at that as a wave of feelings from before come flooding back to me. I can understand why they didn't want people to know. The world would lose it's shit. I take a moment while I think of my next question.

Unfortunately I don't have a chance to ask as someone knocks on the door. Bigby gets up to answer it while I remain seated. I hear a few briefly exchanged words before the door closes again. Bigby reappears with the before mentioned pizza in his arms. He sets it on the table and opens the box. The smell of pepperoni wafts over to me and my mouth waters a little bit. Bigby grabs a slice for himself before returning to his seat.

I walk over and grab a slice. I take a bite of it before taking my own seat. We eat in silence for the most part, aside from me saying a thank you. After I'm done eating, I stand up. I walk back over to the table and ask if he's done. He nods. I close the box and walk into the kitchen to put the box into the fridge. I don't want it to go bad overnight. Bigby doesn't object as I walk out of the room so I assume that he's fine with me moving around the apartment.

I open the fridge and find only a few cartons of smokes and some beers. I huff. Does this guy only eat take-out? I shove the box into the fridge and then close it. I look around the kitchen. There's not a lot in here. Not even a microwave. I wonder if I'm going to be living on this pizza for the next few days as well. Maybe I could talk him into getting some food in here. If I'm going to be staying here for a few days I want to be able to eat properly.

I walk back into the living area and find Bigby fighting to stay awake. His head is leaning against the palm of his hand while his elbow rests on the armchair. He jolts himself upright when he hears me walk back into the room. I sit down and look at him. Just now I notice how tired he looks. I decide not to push the food issue tonight.

"You look pretty exhausted." I comment.

"It's been a long day." He says before he stands. "Might as well show you were you're going to be sleeping. Come on." He says. I stand back up and follow him. He leads me to a door by the front door. He opens it and gestures for me to step inside, which I do without a fuss. It appears to be a normal bedroom. Like the rest his apartment, furnisher is scarce. There's only a bed and a night stand. A few clothes are in a pile in the corner of the room, and off to the side of the room is a closet.

"I'll sleep out in the living room while your here, so don't worry." He says, trying to reassure me. He looks me up and down before he continues to speak, "I don't have many clothes that'll fit you. But your welcome to borrow anything you want so you don't have to sleep in that. I'll talk to Snow tomorrow about getting you some decent clothes." He says.

"That would be.. Cool. Thanks." I tell him. He nods and shuts the door, leaving me by myself. I debate on weather or not I should just crawl into bed, but I decide that it wouldn't hurt to change. I go over to the closet and try to find something to change into. I settle on a white button up shirt that's a little big on me. The shirt itself nearly hangs down to my knees, so I don't bother trying to find pants. I can just slip back into my old clothes after I wake up.

I quickly change and fold my clothes neatly before placing them by the bed. I don't know how much sleep I'm going to be getting tonight, but I crawl into the bed anyway. I pull the blanket around myself as I bring my knees up to my chest. I close my eyes and try to think of sleep but my mind keeps running over the events of the past few hours. So many thoughts and feelings are going through me right now that it's almost too much.

I'm trying not the think about how scared I actually am. No I'm more than scared. I'm terrified. I'm being held here against my will because I saw something that I wasn't supposed to see. And now there's no way for me to contact the outside world. I can't even try to make a break for it because I'm to afraid of what these people might do if I tried and got caught.

I'm stuck here. Neither Snow White or Bigby have threatened to harm me in anyway, but that can change if I make a mistake. Snow White merely treated me as a nuisance that needed to be dealt with quickly. Bigby, on the other hand, has been nice to me ever since he introduced himself in the bar. I get the feeling that if I do as he says that he won't be much of a threat. But in all honesty I have no idea of what kind of people these are.

I don't even want to think about the whole fairytale part of this. My mind won't be able to handle trying to sort that out right now. So instead my thoughts turn towards my family. What if one of my family members tries to contact me while I'm here? Would I even be allowed to talk to them? I doubt it. But then again, I also doubt that they're going to try and get ahold of me. They'll probably assume I'm out job hunting anyway.

There's no way I'm going to be able to get out of this situation unless I do it their way. So the best option for me would be to sit quite and wait. I'll be polite and try to make the best of the situation at hand. I only pray that I can come out of this whole ordeal unscathed.

* * *

 **A/N Wow, two updates in one day. I'm getting back into the hang of writing. lol. If you liked this chapter please leave a review. I'll see ya'll next time. Stay Awesome!**


	4. Spring cleaning

**A/N I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far. I'm having just a little too much fun writing this. lol. I might keep the majority of the story in Rieka's POV, but I'm sure I'll switch to Bigby's occasionally. I'm not sure yet. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 ***Rieka's POV***

I don't know what time it is. Nor do I know how long it's been since I finally fell asleep last night. The thoughts swirling around in my head refused to stop until I got so exhausted that I could no longer process anything that I was thinking. Even then they tried to persist. But I do remember drifting off into a fitful sleep at some point in the night. I didn't dream about anything last night.

I've been laying here staring at the wall for what feels like forever now. But I know that I can't stay here curled up into a ball all day, so I force myself to stretch my legs out. They ache as I stretch them out. I have a few cramps from staying in one position all night, but I don't really care. I make myself roll out of bed and stand up. I stretch my arms up and arch my back. I groan a little as my body starts waking up.

I find my clothes and put them back on. I decide to just throw the shirt I used into the pile of clothes in the corner. I walk over to the door and pause. I don't know if Bigby is up yet, and if he's not I don't want to wake him. I suppose there's only one way to find out. I open the door as quietly as I can and quietly step out into the main part of the apartment.

I don't even have to look around to know that Bigby is defiantly awake. I can hear him doing something in the kitchen. There's some rustling and a few curses. I wonder what he's doing. I take the few steps towards the kitchen and see Bigby rustling around in some drawers. He doesn't seem to notice me so I just stand there awkwardly and wait for him to finish doing whatever it is that he's doing. He seems to find whatever it was that he was looking for and turns around.

"Oh good you're up." He says as he walks past me towards the dining area of the apartment. I follow him curiously. He sets a pen and paper down on the table and gestures for me to sit down. I sit and look down at the piece of paper in front of me. My gaze drifts back up to him as I wait for an explanation as to what it is that I'm supposed to be doing.

"I have to go to work soon, but I figured that you might need a few things while you stay here. So I want you to write a list of stuff and I'll have somebody drop it off later today." He says, pointing to the paper.

"Okay.. You're going to leave me alone in your apartment?" I ask.

"Yea. There's not a lot of choices, or no _good_ choices I should say. You're free to do whatever you want in here as long as you don't step foot out of this apartment." He says a little sternly.

"Gotcha. So... Who's going to be dropping this stuff off?" I ask, a little paranoid that it's going to be another creature like the Toad in the bar.

"He's name is Flycatcher. He'll be discrete and he's trustworthy. When he comes to drop this stuff off I don't want you to tell him anything about what's going on, understand?" He says and I nod.

"Don't let the cat out of the bag. Got it." I say sarcastically. "Hey is there any coffee here?" I ask as an after thought.

"In the kitchen. I'm going to shower and change. Then I'll be heading out. Make sure the list is done by the time I leave." He says as he walks into a door by the table. After a few moments I hear the water turn on. I look back down at the paper in front of me and think of what might be useful. I should probably start with a short list of groceries. Get some food in here. Maybe a few books or something that I can use to keep myself busy? Yea that doesn't sound to bad.

I make quick work of the list and I'm finished just as I hear the shower turn off. I rip the piece of paper from the notebook and leave it on the table as I get up. I go into the kitchen and open up a cupboard, looking for something to pour the coffee into. I have to open two or three cupboards before I find one with cups of all sizes in it. I grab one of them and pour some sweet, sweet coffee into.

I return to the kitchen area to find Bigby reading over the list I made. I take a seat at the table as he reads. When he's done reading it he nods, folds it up, and then puts it into his pocket. Then he grabs the pen and jots something down before he hands the notebook back to me.

"That's the number for my office. If something happens just call and I'll come sort it out." He says.

"Okie Dokie." I say. I rip the part of the paper with the number on it and put it in the front pocket of my jeans. I take a sip of the coffee and relish in the taste of it. Is there anything better than a cup of coffee after a weird night filled with dream like happenings?

"Okay.. I'm leaving." He says. He grabs a set of keys that are laying by the phone and makes his way for the door. Once he's outside I hear the lock click into place and relax a little more. I hadn't really expected to be given free rain of the apartment unsupervised. A part of me is urging myself to try and make a run for it, but I don't. I don't want to think about what other creators may be laying behind that very door.

So instead I look around the apartment again in hopes of finding something to do. There's a small tv in front of the armchair, but I don't know if it even works to be honest. Only one way to find out. I get up, coffee cup in hand, and move into the living room. I switch the tv on and I'm met with a static riddled screen. The volume's turned up pretty loud so I shut it off quickly. Tv's a no go then.

I take another long sip of coffee as I raddle my brain to think of something to do. After a few minutes and idea pops into my head. I know something that always makes me feel better in stressful situations that would also help cure my potential boredom. I can try to clean this place up a little. Surely that would be okay, right? I walk back into the kitchen and set my coffee cup down on the counter. I open a few drawers and lower cabinets in search for any cleaning supplies that I can scrounge up.

I the cabinet under the sink I find some glass cleaner and a few scouring pads. The glass cleaner is useful, but the scouring pads look like they are from the 50's. There's rust covering the majority of them, and I don't want to have to deal with a tetanus shot. So I leave those there. Then I make my way back to the bathroom in search of towels. I find those pretty easily as there's only one cupboard in there. I grab a few of them and then head back into the kitchen. I might as well start in here.

I pile the dirty dishes onto the counter and fill the right sink up with hot water. I add just a bit of soap to the mix. I make quick work of the dishes and leave them drying in a strainer on either counter. Then I empty the sink filled with now dirty water and fill it back up. I add some more dish soap to the water. I turn the faucet off when the sink is full, and take a sip of coffee. Then I go back into the kitchen and grab a chair. I drag it to the window in the kitchen and used it as makeshift stepstool to reach the top of the window seal. I dip a clean washcloth into the sink and rinse it out.

Then I climb on top of the chair and begin scrubbing dust, dirt, and god knows what else from the windowpane. I have to rinse out the washcloth two or three times before I'm finally down. I climb down from the chair and throw the washcloth into the water. I rip a few paper towels off of the roll hanging about the sink and grab the glass cleaner. I get back up on the chair and spray down the window. After wiping down the upper part of the glass I get down again and move the chair away from the window. Then I do the lower half.

Just as I finish wiping off the last few drops of cleaner I hear a knock at the door. I hesitantly set down the cleaners and make my way to the door. I take a deep breath and brace myself as I flick the lock on the door. I open it slowly and expect to see some creature standing in the doorway. However there's only a normal looking man holding two bags. He's wearing a yellow janitors suit with a hat on his head. Behind him in the hallway is a cart filled with cleaning supplies.

"Hey. Bigby wanted me to drop this stuff by?" The man says as he extends his hands towards me so I can take the bags from him. I think I remember Bigby saying that his name was Flycatcher.

"Oh yeah. Thanks." I say as I take the bags from him.

"There's a few more bags here. Just tell me where you want them." Flycatcher says as he turns around and picks a few more bags up off the ground. I just tell him to put them on the table.

"Alright. Is there anything else I can do for you?" He asks politely. I know that I probably shouldn't ask him for anything else, but I can't help it.

"Um, would it be alright if I borrowed some of your cleaning supplies?" I ask. He looks a little surprised, but his face quickly takes on a curiosity and amusement.

"Sure. I can hook you up. What do you need?" He asks. I give him a short list of supplies I think that I'll need to continue my cleaning rampage through the house. He nods and returns to his cart. A few minutes later he returns with the stuff I asked for. I tell him thank you and he takes his leave. I make sure to lock the door behind him and go about putting away the bags off food that was brought. It doesn't take too long.

I spent the rest of the day running around the small apartment and cleaning up where I could. The hours flew by quicker than I thought they would, and I only stopped to eat. By 7:30 p.m. I was exhausted. I had cleaned up most of the trash that littered the apartment and wiped down a lot of surfaces. But the apartment would still need some work if I was going to have it fully cleaned. I'm just simply to tired to continue for tonight. So I shove all of my borrowed cleaning supplies under the sink and move into the living room.

As I passed by the kitchen table I looked through the stack of books on the table. I picked one that looked interesting and sat down in the armchair in the living room. I opened the book to the first page and started reading. My eyelids begin to feel heavier and heavier as I read page after page, and before I know it I'm dozing off into sleep.

* * *

 ***Bigby's POV*  
**

I enter the apartment at a little after ten. Instantly the smell of cleaners hits my nose and I look around in bewilderment. I know that I told her to do whatever she wanted, but I didn't expect her to clean the god damn place. She shouldn't feel like she has to clean the apartment. But I'll let it go for now. There's more important matters to discuss.

I make my way into the sitting area and stop dead in my tracks when I lay eyes upon the girl sleeping in my armchair. A book is sitting on her lap, and her head is leaned against the back of the chair. She's snoring softly. I sigh and rub my face. I don't have the heart to wake her. It's probably just as well that I talk to her in the morning anyway. I'm already getting a migraine and I shouldn't add telling this girl that she'll be stuck here for a few more weeks on top of that. She'll probably blow a fuse or something, and I don't want to deal with that right now.

I suppose I should probably just head to bed... I stop myself before I even turn around. It doesn't seem right to leave her sleeping out here when there's a perfectly good bed in the next room. She'll get more rest in there, and she's going to need it. I move towards it as quietly as I can and take the book from her. I set on the stand beside the chair before I gently pick her up. She stirs a bit and one of her arms instinctively wraps itself around my neck. I make sure she's still sleeping before I take her to the bedroom.

I lay her down and pull the covers up over her. She snuggles deeper into the blankets and lets out a sigh. I shake my head and exit the bedroom, closing the door behind me.

* * *

 **A/N There it is. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. As always, stay awesome my lovelies!**


	5. A new job

**A/N Hello Everyone! I hope that you enjoy this chapter of Changed. I want to give a special shout out to Midnight Ally. I appreciate all of your reviews so much! On to the next chapter!**

* * *

 ***Rieka's POV***

I lazily stretch out and sigh. I'm so comfortable and warm right now. I haven't even opened my eyes yet. Yesterday was a flurry of activity and I just want to lay here for a few more minutes. Because as soon as I open my eyes I know that I'm going to have to continue dealing with this insane situation. Just a few more minutes. I roll over onto my back, when my mind suddenly realizes that I'm in a bed. My eyes snap open and I sit straight up. After looking around the room I realize that Bigby must have moved me in here sometime last night. That was.. Kind of sweet.

I visibly relax a little and stretch out my back. I might as well get up. I throw my legs over the side of the bed and stand up. I walk over to the door and open it without hesitation. The sweet smell of coffee hits my nose. I notice Bigby sitting at the table looking at me, but I need coffee first. So I just nod to him and walk into the kitchen. I wonder to myself if he's upset that I cleaned up a little bit as I pour myself a cup of liquid gold. I might as well find out, so I walk back into the dining room. I sit directly across from him.

"Good morning. Uh, how did you sleep?" I ask.

"Well enough. Did you sleep alright?" He asks. I nod and take a sip of coffee. "I noticed that you cleaned up a bit yesterday." Bigby comments. I groan inwardly. I really hope that I didn't anger him by cleaning.

"Yea.. I'm sorry if it was overstepping any boundaries. I just got a little bored. I hope that it's okay." I say back to him.

"I don't really mind either way, but I don't want you to feel like you have to clean." He retorts. "Anyway, I need to talk to you about something else." He says before I can even get a chance to respond. A sense of dread fills my gut. I don't like the way he said that. Whatever it is, it must not be good news.

"Did.. Did something happen?" I ask nervously.

"Yes and no. I have some news that you're probably not going to like hearing." Bigby says as he lights a cigarette. When I don't say anything he continues, "It turns out that the witches upstairs need some more time to get the spell ready. Apparently some of the ingredients are rather hard to track down." He informs me. I stay quite for a moment and let the news sink in. When it does, I feel rage bubbling up in my chest.

"How much more time do they need?" I ask in a low voice.

"At least a couple of weeks." He responds. A couple of weeks! That can't be right! I can't let that happen, there has to be some other way of going about this. I have a life I need to get back to, and they just can't expect me to stay here waiting for the day when they're ready. Can they?

"You've got to be kidding me, right? I can't stay here for a few more weeks! I have an apartment, and a life. I have to find a job so I can keep said apartment. You can't just hold me hostage here for that long, and then throw me out onto the street with no memory of what happened and no home to go to!" I yell. My hands are curled into fists and I'm fighting the urge to punch something.

"I don't have the final say in this. Like it or not this is how it has to be." He says sternly.

"Why? Why does it have to be this way?" I ask, my voice still raised. I stand up and put my palms on the table.

"Look kid, there are things that you don't understand. This is the safest situation for you to be in right now." He responds, looking up at me.

"If I don't understand then why don't you try explaining it to me? Because right now I'm angry and confused." I counter bitterly.

"If you want me to tell you what's going on then you need to calm down. I'm in no mood for this right now." He says gruffly. I'm baffled. Does he really expect me to just calm down after what he told me? I'm freaking out, but he doesn't seem like he'll budge. So I force my self to sit back down. My fists are still clenched tightly and I glare at him as I wait for him to explain.

"What's going on?" I say tensely when a few seconds go by. "Why is it safer for me here?"

"There are certain people who would not be to happy about this situation. People in our community. Their have been a few other... Incidents. People have been killed simply because of what they knew." He starts. "I won't be able to stop that from happening if you just go free." He finishes. While that does make sense, it doesn't solve all of the problems I'm having with this situation.

"Fine. But what about my apartment? It's not like time is stopping. My landlord is going to evict me if I don't come up with some rent money. And I kind of need a job for that." I snip.

"I'll figure something out. In the mean time I need you to cooperate with me for a little while longer." He says. I stew for a few minutes. I can't believe the situation that I'm being forced into. But just like when this whole ordeal began, I don't have a choice. I have to throw myself at the mercy of my captors. They can do anything they want with me and I won't be able to do to much to stop them. I sigh.

"Fine. I'll cooperate, but don't expect me to be happy about it." I tell him finally. He looks a little relieved, but mostly just annoyed. That makes two of us then.

"I have to get going. I'll talk to Snow and see what we can do about the whole apartment situation." He says, standing. I don't look at or acknowledge him as he leaves the apartment.

* * *

 ***Bigby's POV***

I know that she's upset and confused, but she's going to be the death of me. I had to use what will power I had not to raise my voice against her. She has a right to be upset, but nothing is going to get worked out by yelling at me for something neither of us have control over. I just need to stick it out for a few more weeks. Hopefully Snow will be able to offer a solution to the whole apartment fiasco. Maybe that will help Rieka calm down just a bit. Gods, it's been a long time since I've had to deal with a Mundie.

I walk towards my office and I can already hear the lines of people chattering away as they wait. It's going to be another long day at the office. But they'll have to wait for another minute. I need to talk to Snow as soon as possible. I turn the corner and walk past the lines stretched out in front of both Snow's and my offices. A few people shoot me a glare, but I ignore it. I walk straight into the main office and towards Snow's desk.

She's talking on the phone to somebody, but gives me a short wave as I approach. I lean up against the desk as I wait for her to finish dealing with who ever it is that she's talking to. They don't sound too entirely happy. After a few minutes go by Snow finally hangs up the phone and groans. She rubs her temples and takes a deep breath before looking up at me. I must look stirred up, or more so than usual, because she instantly picks up on it.

"What happened?" She asks, jumping straight in.

"I talked to Rieka this morning about the witches. She didn't take the news to well." I say gruffly.

"I didn't expect her too. I know that she'll calm down eventually." Snow says.

"Not if we don't do something first." I respond. Snow gives me a confused look so I continue, "She's going to loose her apartment because of this. Apparently she's between jobs right now, and her rent is due. We can't just throw her out onto the street after this is done, Snow."

"No. No we can't." Snow says, sighing. "What do you suppose we do about it?" She asks. I think for a minute. It would be hard to get the money from Cole. He would most likely say it would be a waste of funds. Snow might even say the same. I can't let her out of the building to go look for work. She probably wouldn't come back if I did. I furrow my eyebrows and light a smoke.

"I don't know Snow. Hell, she already knows about us. Why don't we just give her a job too." I say in a joking manner. I look down at Snow, who isn't laughing.

"Actually.." Snow says thoughtfully. Shit.

"Snow, I was kidding." I tell her.

"Well it would be the most logical thing to do, Bigby. If she needs the money that badly, then let's put her to work here at the office. That way we can keep her out of trouble." Snow says.

"What exactly would we have her be doing?" I question.

"How about a deputy?" Snow replies. "You can keep a better eye on her and she'll able to keep her apartment."

"My job isn't exactly safe for Mundies." I tell her. She straightens up some papers on her desk.

"I'm sure you'll be able to handle it." She says, looking back up at me.

"And what are we supposed to tell people exactly? People can't know that there's a Mundie working at the office." I remark. Snow seems to falter a bit at that, but it doesn't slow her down for long.

"We'll tell everyone that she's a fable. We'll just need a convincing backstory to tell people." She says. I sigh. There's no way that I'm getting out of this.

"Okay, fine. I'll make something up later." I say and stand up straight. "I suppose this is the best way out." I comment before making my way back to my office.

* * *

 ***One work day later***

I unlock the door to the apartment and step in. I'm half expecting to see Rieka still steaming at the table, but she's not. I look to the side to check if she's in the kitchen. She's not. However there are a few dishes in the sink and the smell of food lingers in the air. She must have been cooking recently. I walk into the living room and find it empty as well. Maybe she's already asleep? Only one way to find out. I walk to the bedroom and slowly open the door.

The room is dark, but just enough light escapes through the crack in the door for me to tell that she's not in here either. My blood starts pounding for a moment as I think that she may have gotten out. But then I hear the distinct sound of the shower turning off. I curse at myself for not hearing the water. I must be more tired than I even realized. But what can you expect from sleeping on a chair and working long hours?

I walk into the kitchen and grab a beer from the fridge. I pop the cap off and walk back into the kitchen. I sit at the table and wait for Rieka to exit the bathroom so I can give her the 'good' news about her new job. I take a few swigs of beer before the bathroom door finally opens. Rieka steps out of the bathroom and I stare at her for a moment.

Her hair is wet and dripping down the white shirt that she's currently wearing. It's one of my day shirts. It's way to big, and comes down to the middle of her thighs. The rest of her legs are bare and I can't help it when my eyes take in the sight. Even though I'm partially annoyed, I can't deny that she looks pretty good. Shaking it off I turn my gaze back to her face. She's slightly glaring at me and I remember that I was supposed to be having a conversation to alleviate some of her anger.

"I'm glad your still up. I have a solution to your problem." I inform her. She cocks and eyebrow, but doesn't otherwise move. "Starting tomorrow, you'll be working with me. You'll be paid for your work, and I'll be able to keep an eye on you."

"I'll be working with you? Around the people you said would try to kill me. Great." She says sarcastically, but she doesn't protest otherwise.

"Nobody will know that you're not a fable. You will be given a back story that you will have to stick to no matter what." I tell her. She only nods in response.

"I suggest that you get some sleep tonight, because you're going to need it for tomorrow." I say, before getting up and walking into the living room.

* * *

 **A/N There ya go. Chapter 5 done! lol. Stay awesome!**


	6. This job sucks, well maybe not

**A/N Hello all of my beautiful readers! Thanks for joining in on the fun of this chapter. Sorry that it took me a bit longer than normal to get it up. But life goes on. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 ***Rieka's POV***

I haven't said much to Bigby since yesterday. Whenever he asks me something I give a short, direct response. I know that it's childish to take my anger out on him, but I don't have a lot of other people around me lately. I know deep down that he doesn't deserve it. And I know that eventually I'm going to suck it up and just accept the situation for what it is. I, however, choose to be angry right now. It's a lot better than being scared of what might happen in the future.

Bigby and I are currently getting ready for the day ahead of us in silence. I was told to wake up earlier than I usually do so that Bigby can brief me on my 'history', the fake cover that I'll be using while I'm here. Bigby said it's necessary for me to be able to leave the apartment, just in case somebody asks who I am. I guess it is better to be prepared, but I get the feeling that I'm being overly protected. Better than being under protected I suppose.

I make a simple and quick breakfast of eggs and toast. As I sit down to eat it, Bigby walks around the apartment gathering some of those files of his. I take a few bites of my eggs and watch him flip through a few of the files. He picks one out from the group and sets the others on top of the TV. He walks over to the table and sits down next to me. Then he opens the file and puts it on the table where I can see it. I casually look over it as Bigby finally starts talking.

"The information in this file is everything you'll need to know about the role you're going to be playing. You can read it when we get home, but for now I'll just give you a run down of the basic information." He pauses briefly to make sure that I'm listening. I give him a light nod so he continues, "You are going to tell anyone who asks you that you are from a very obscure part of our world, and that you didn't make it into many of the stories here in the mundane realm." He says as he lights a smoke. I swear this guy and his smokes. It's almost insufferable.

"Keep it vague. Got it. But who, or what, do I say I am?" I question.

"You'll tell them that you are a distant relative of Holly's." He responds.

"Holly?" I ask. "I'm going to need a little more information that just that.." I remark sarcastically.

"Holly owns the bar where you saw Toad." He explains. I nod and shove another forkful of eggs into my mouth.

"Anything else I should know?" I ask, taking a sip of coffee. Bigby looks thoughtful for a moment.

"I suppose I should mention that Holly's a troll..." He says, and of course Holly's a troll. Why wouldn't she be a troll? That honestly doesn't even surprise me at this point.

I finish eating and stand up. I put the dirty dishes into the sink and walk back towards the door where my boots are laying. I put them on and pull my hair into a ponytail. Then I wait by the door as Bigby downs the last bit of his coffee. He doesn't bother putting the dish in the sink. Instead he walks to the door and opens it. I follow him out and I suddenly feel nervous. The thought that some of these people might actually try to hurt me, or worse, just because I know their secret is actually kind of terrifying. I hope Bigby will be able to keep true to his word on making sure that that doesn't happen.

We walk out of the apartment and down a hallway. We're coming up on a corner and I hear a flurry of voices and activity. I'm not really sure what I expected, but as soon as we round the corner I'm met with two long lines of normal looking people. Bigby doesn't pay them any mind as we walk past, even when a few of them make snarky comments. We walk into through the first door and into a small office. No, small is the wrong way to describe it. This office is tiny. The desk in the middle of the room barely fits in here, so I'm not surprised when I only see three chairs. I stand there awkwardly for a moment as Bigby gets situated behind his desk. He pulls out a few files from a drawer and looks back at me.

"I need you to run this to the office next door and give it to Snow." He commands, holding out a small stack of papers. I nod and grab the files from him. As I reach for the door handle he adds, "Tell whoever's next in line to get in here." I give another nod and step out of the office. I motion for the lady in line to go in and look down the hallway. There are a lot of people waiting to be seen. I nervously walk up along the line hoping that nobody speaks to me. Thankfully none do.

I step inside of the only other door in the hallway and I have to stop my jaw from dropping. This place is _huge!_ There are more bookshelves than I care to count, and piles of stuff from story books are everywhere. There's even a flying ship. A flying ship! Inside of this building. This is pretty insane and I wonder if the room has some sort of charm on it that makes it bigger. There's two ordinary looking desks in the middle of a cleared area. Snow is sitting behind one while the other is unoccupied at the moment. I quickly walk towards Snow and put the stack of files on her desk. She looks up at me and then down at the files.

"Bigby told me to give these to you?" I say. I don't know why but it comes out as question. Maybe it's just nerves.

"Ah, this must be the paperwork for the Toad incident. Thank you for bringing it." She says. I try to muster a polite smile and then walk away. I make my way back to Bigby's office. Before I open the door I knock on it three times. Once I'm inside I close the door and smile at the women sitting in across the desk from Bigby. She looks me up and down a few times before she draws her attention back to the man sitting in front of her.

"Alright, I'll take care of it as soon as I can. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." Bigby says and writes something down. The women nods and leaves the office. I should probably ask what he wants me to do next. It beats just standing here.

"So, what-" I'm cut off when the phone starts ringing.

"Hold that thought." Bigby says to me before he picks up the phone. "Yes?" He says into the receiver. I hear a mumbled voice on the other end, but I can't really make out what it is that their saying. Bigby looks annoyed by whoever's calling, but tells the person that he'll be there soon. He hangs up the phone and stands up. He looks me up and down as if he's trying to decide something. I can almost hear what he's thinking. Should I take her with me or leave her here? I don't have to wait but a few seconds before he's made up his mind.

"Come on." He says gruffly and walks past me. I shrug and follow him out of the office. As we walk to the elevators, I wonder where it is that we're going and who it was that called. More importantly, why am I going? I've been 'working' here for fifteen minutes and so far the only thing I've been allowed to do is deliver some paperwork. I have an inkling that the only reason I'm even standing next to Bigby in the elevator is because he wants to babysit me. Is this what life's going to be like for the next few weeks?

I imagine Bigby giving me meaningless jobs to do every day. That would suck. I may not be happy with my situation, and yea, I'm partially freaked out by all of this fable stuff, but I am not just some errand girl. I can handle myself if I need to. And I can take on whatever responsibility that he'd be willing to give me. At least then I'd be able to say that I tried my best. Not that I'm going to remember any of this when it's all over...

* * *

 ***Tenant Building. 10:34 A.M.***

I get out of the cab and gaze up at a building that is in dire need of repairs. I look up to the third story and see a gaping hole in it. It looks like a few boards were nailed across it, but most of them now lay broken on the street in front of the building. That's when I notice the other stuff scattered around. There's bits of broken glass, furniture, and other stuff. I look back up just in time to see a full bookcase come crashing down onto the street a few feet away from me. I jump away from the crash sight, and thankfully I'm not hurt. I look back up at the window and wonder who the hell is doing that.

I don't have much time to gawk though as Bigby walks ahead of me. I don't want to be left standing here on the street so I follow him inside. We walk into a landing of sorts. Directly in front of us are some stairs leading to the upper floor of the apartment building. Next to them on the left is a small hallway that leads to a single door. I don't have to wonder where it is that we're going as Bigby doesn't stop. He walks straight up the stairs. I have to skip a few steps to keep up with him and my curiosity grows. I want to know what's going on!

Once we're up the stairs we turn and walk down the hallway. Even from a distance I can hear muffled yelling coming from down the hallway. It gets louder and more distinct as we get closer to the end of the hallway. Bigby stops in front of the last door to the right. He knocks. When there's no answer he just opens the door and steps in. I follow him inside of the room and crinkle my nose. It smells like a liquor store exploded in here. Standing in the middle of the room is a tall man wearing a plaid shirt. I recognize him from the bar. The guy is swaying back in forth like he's struggling to keep standing.

The guy turns around and looks at us. His eyes are bloodshot and he looks like he's been awake for a hundred years. He's mumbling something to himself but I can't make out what he's saying. I guess it doesn't matter. I look beside me at Bigby who looks really peeved. His arms are crossed over his chest and his overall stance is intimidating. I look back at the burly guy in front of us. He takes a staggering step towards us.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The man slurs.

"I think you know why." Bigby tells him. "Now I'm going to need you to quite throwing your shit out of the window."

"What if I don't want to huh?" He asks snidely. "What business is it of yours anyway?"

"I don't have time for this crap Woody. I'm already pissed off that I had to come all the way out here." Bigby growls. I furrow my eyebrows. Woody? What kind of name is that?

"Who asked you to? Just leave me alone." Woody says. He turns around and picks up a few plates that are scattered on the ground. Bigby takes a step towards him.

"Don't fucking do it." Bigby says as Woody holds the plates out of the window. Woody throws us a cocky smile as he starts dropping the plates one by one. I can practically feel the anger radiating off of Bigby at this point. I tilt my head to the side and speak without thinking.

"Hey, I guess this makes spring cleaning easier." I slap myself mentally. Maybe right now isn't the best time for sarcasm. However, my comment does seem to distract Woody from tossing plates out of the window. He points a chubby finger at me.

"Who the hell are you?" He asks. Before Bigby can respond I pipe back up.

"My name's Rieka. I'm here helping Bigby." I say, smiling. Woody doesn't seem impressed.

"You've got a shit job then. I'm surprised they could talk anybody into working with him." Woody says. I chuckle. If only he actually knew.

"Yea. I got roped into it. Hey, why are you throwing all this stuff out of that hole anyway?" I ask as I tilt my head. I don't know how I'm talking so calmly seeing as how he almost crushed me with a bookcase a few minutes ago. But he just seems drunk, not dangerous. Woody staggers away from the hole and falls into a sitting position. Even sitting down this guy is about as tall as I am.

"I can't stand to look at this stuff anymore." He says.

"Why?" I ask curiously.

"You wouldn't understand.." He trails off and looks down at his lap. I take a couple of steps closer to him and kneel down.

"Try me." I say. Woody hesitates, but after a moment he begins to ramble on and on. I can only catch bits and pieces of what he's saying, but it doesn't matter. At least he's calming down a little. At some point my legs start cramping up so I fully sit down. After awhile he stops and looks at me.

"I just don't know how life got this messed up, you know?" He says.

"Yea.. Life can get shitty." I say. "But we have to make the best of it. Otherwise it'll always be shitty." I remark. He stares at me for a minute before nodding. I look behind me to look at Bigby. He's leaning against a far wall smoking. He looks less annoyed than earlier, but I don't think his patience will last too much longer. I better cut the conversation off.

"I have to get going now. Stop throwing your stuff out of the window. You almost killed me earlier." I tell him and he nods.

"Yea, yea. I'll quiet down. See ya around." He says. I smile. I think I made a friend. I stand up and walk out of the apartment with Bigby trailing behind me. Once we got onto the sidewalk he signals for a cab. After we slide into the back seat of one he sighs. I glance at him and he looks.. Annoyed? I feel the beginnings of tension twisting in my gut. Should I have just let him handle the situation? He didn't seem to mind back in the apartment, but maybe I crossed a boundary or something? I feel like I have to say something about it.

"I, uh, I'm sorry if I upset you back there.." I tell him awkwardly. He looks at me and sighs again.

"You handled it well. I just wasn't expecting it is all." He remarks. I feel slightly offended that he didn't think I could handle it, but I get over it quickly. Because yes, I did handle it rather well if I must say so. I'm actually surprised myself. If you had asked me to talk down a drunken man that was throwing crap out of gaping hole in the side of the building a week ago I would have told you to piss off. And if you would have gone on to tell me that he's from some story book I would have ran away and called the cops. But for some reason I so sure of myself when I started talking to him. Perhaps I even made an impact on his situation. Probably not, but that thought does cheer me up a little. So maybe, just maybe, this job wouldn't be all that sucky? I turn to face Bigby.

"So... What else are we going to be doing today?" I ask with a smile.

* * *

 **A/N Tada! I hope that you've enjoyed this little venture. I'll be back soon with some more content. Stay Awesome guys!**


	7. Sorry

**A/N I'm back, and have another chapter for you guys. I just want to ask everyone to ignore the grammar mistakes littered throughout the story. I'm currently betaless. So please forgive me. Anyway, happy reading!**

* * *

 ***Rieka's POV***

I groan and think about banging my head against the desk. After Bigby and I got back to the office I was told to write out the report. Bigby had said that it was because I ended up taking care of it, but I got the feeling he just didn't want to do it. But I didn't argue with him about it. What would be the point? I did my best to fill out everything that I could, but I eventually had to hand it over to him. There were things that I just didn't know the answer to. Like the address, full names, etc.. He glanced over it quickly and then filled out the rest before putting it to the side.

Now I'm sitting here staring at a wall with nothing to do. I had offered to help him with other paperwork, but he told me that I didn't know enough about the situations to help. At this point I'd even be willing to run more files over to Snow White. It beats dying of boredom. I glance up at the clock on the wall. 11:48 A.M. I wonder if we're going to eat anytime soon. Food sounds really, really good right now. But Bigby hasn't mentioned anything about it, and I don't want to ask.

I know that it sounds silly, but I don't want to push my luck. I wouldn't have blamed him for getting angry with me earlier, but he wasn't. In fact, he's been pretty good to me since this whole thing started if I really stop to think about it. He's letting me stay with him, even if it _is_ because I saw Toad and they had nowhere else to put me. And he didn't get upset when I stressed cleaned his apartment, or when I yelled at him yesterday.. Plus he's been very good at making sure I have everything I need. Except for clothes. But still. He even kept to his word about making sure that I'd still have an apartment to go to once this whole thing is over with.

The more I think about it the more I realize how misplaced my anger was yesterday. I admit that this situation isn't ideal, but that's not really his fault. I just got frustrated by the news of my prolonged stay and I took it out on him. I feel like an ass for blowing up at him. I need to apologize to him when I get a chance. Which I hope is soon. I don't want this hanging in the air for too long, nor do I want to continue fighting with him for no reason. I have to suck it up and make the best of this situation. I glance at him.

Bigby is leaning against one palm while he uses the other hand to write. His eyebrows are furrowed together in concentration as he works. His eyes are darting back and forth across the piece of paper in front of him. His hair is a mess, but it looks good on him. He has an intimidating aura around him, but I'm starting to get used to that. He always has that aura. I wonder if it's the wolf part of him? I make a mental note to ask him about it later. He glances over at me and I realize that I've been staring at him. Heat rises up to my cheeks and I look down at the floor.

"Hungry?" He asks, leaning against the back of the chair.

"Sure." I say quietly. I look up at him in time to see him give me a swift nod.

"Let's go." He says and we walk out of the office together.

* * *

 ***Time skip to later that night.***

I sigh with relief as Bigby and I enter the apartment. Today was a whirlwind. So many people had come in and out of that office today that all of their faces are blurring together. I can't even remember all of their names. I tried to help where I could, but I was pretty much useless. They all came in with complaints about neighbors, or seeing someone out of glamour, or whatever. I stopped paying attention after awhile. We ended up leaving the office around eleven I think.

I walk into the apartment and take off my boots. I throw them by the door before moving into the kitchen to scrounge for food. I'm starving! Bigby grabs a beer from the fridge and walks out of the kitchen. I don't want to cook, but I don't think I'm going to have a choice in that matter. There's no snack food. I kick myself for not writing tv dinners on that stupid list. _Can't help it now_ I think to myself as I pull some ingredients out of the fridge. I decide to make hamburgers. I throw two of them into a pan and turn the heat on the stove all the way up. I want them to cook quickly.

Once they're done I shut off the stove and get two plates out. I put the hamburgers on some buns and head off for the kitchen. I set one of the plates down on the table and look over at Bigby, who's sitting in the armchair. I didn't really have a chance to apologize to him earlier, but maybe now is good time for that. I walk over to him and offer the plate. He looks a little surprised, but he takes the plate anyway. I wonder when's the last time he cooked something in the apartment. I quickly push the thought to the side. Apologies first, questions later.

"I just wanted to say thanks for getting me a job... And I'm sorry for yelling at you yesterday." I say. I look down at the floor as another wave of guilt hits me.

"It's okay. Really it is. I don't blame you for being angry yesterday." Bigby responds.

"Yea, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. You've been pretty decent to me this entire time and I've been an ass." I reply, finally looking back at him.

"Well I didn't expect you to react all that well to everything that's being forced on you." He says. "Let's go eat. It'd be a shame if this got cold." He said gesturing to the plate of food. I smile softly and nod. Bigby stands and joins me at the table. We eat mainly in silence. After we're done I take the plates to the sink and grab two beers from the fridge. When I get back to the dining room I hold out one of the beers, which he takes. I take a seat and pop open the beer.

"So, what do you do besides work?" I ask.

"Not much. I usually just come home and try to relax." He replies.

"Is everyday like today?" I question, referring to the Woody incident. He surprises me by chuckling.

"On a good day, yea. But things don't usually go that well." He says. I cock one eyebrow.

"You got an example?" I ask, curious as to what a bad day in this world is like.

"You remember that hole on the side of the apartment?" He asks. I nod and take a swig of beer. "That was caused by a fight Woody and me had. Long story short, we ended up going out of the window.. Toad wasn't too happy about it." He said. I gape at him.

"You went through the side of a three story building.. Well shit!" I exclaim. "What's Woody's story, anyway?" I ask.

"He's the woodsman. He used to be a one of the hero's in the old realm, but now.. Well now he spends most of his time drunk." Bigby says.

"The woodsman.. So that means that he.." I trail off.

"Cut me open? Yea." Bigby says with a chuckle. I whistle and take another drink. I now understand a little more of that tension earlier. "What about you?" Bigby asks.

"What do you mean?" I ask, slightly confused.

"What's your story?" He clarifies.

"Well I moved to the city about two years ago, much to my family's objections. They hate big cities and they're convinced that I'm going to end up on a true crime Tv show or something." I say laughing. "When I first moved here I had to call and calm my mother down every night. But they calmed down eventually. As far as work.. well that's a whole other story in itself."

"What did you do for your last job?" He inquires.

"I worked in a dinner with a jerk of a boss." I reply.

"Was it better than working for me?" He asks jokingly.

"Yes. At least he wasn't a slave driver!" I say dramatically. We both chuckle and I smile at him. A few seconds of silence pass between us. Then I look at the clock, which reads 12:46 A.M. I didn't realize it was that late.

"We had better get to bed." I say. I stand up and start heading to the bedroom. Before I open the door I turn around and look at Bigby again. "Hey, thanks for putting up with me." I tell him. He smiles at me and I head to bed.

* * *

 **A/N I hope you enjoyed this chapter of _Changed._ If you did, please leave a review, and as always, stay awesome guys.**


	8. Kind of like Cinderella

**A/N Hello my beautiful readers. I bring you another chapter! Hope you enjoy it. ^.^**

* * *

 ***Rieka's POV***

"Rieka, up!" I jump awake as Bigby yells through the door, my heart pounding. I must have over slept! I quickly get out of bed and rush to get dressed, clumsily pulling on my clothes. Luckily, I manage not to fall down while putting on my pants. I start combing my hair back into it's usual ponytail as I hurry through the door and into the main apartment. I stop short when I see Bigby leaning against the wall that separates the kitchen and living room with a smirk on his face.

"What?" I ask slowly. I don't like that look.

"I just wanted to see how fast you could get ready." He say with a humorous tone. I glare at him and look over at the clock. It's not even seven in the morning yet!

"You're an ass." I say sarcastically, and walk over to playfully punch him in the arm. I hear him laugh as I walk into the kitchen to get breakfast ready. I pull out some bacon and the ingredients for pancakes. Normally I wouldn't waste this much time on making breakfast, but seeing as how _someone_ woke me up early, I might as well. As I cook I think back on the past few days since I've started working with Bigby. The two of us have fallen into a comradery with each other that I'm growing quite fond of. Every night after work we sit at the table and have a beer together as we talk. We joke back and forth, tell each other crazy stories about our lives, and basically just get to know each other.

Bigby is starting to let me do more and more at work, which I'm thankful for. The night after I apologized he gave me a bunch of files to read about the fables. Who they were and who they are now. I found it interesting enough and the more I read about these people the more comfortable I started feeling around them. I'm starting to realize that I'm not threatened by every person who I come into contact with here. Some of the people I've met at work are actually really nice. Like Beauty. She had a complaint about something or another the other day. I sat and chatted with her for a few minutes and I enjoyed our little talk.

I can feel Bigby starting to trust me a little more everyday. Whenever we get a call he doesn't look too annoyed that I'm tagging along. And I no longer feel the need to stay right by him whenever we're out of the office. I feel free to go and talk to people and look around. Sometimes I even help defuse situations. And I'm no longer sitting idly in a chair all day. Bigby's allowing me to help with reports and he's told me he's even considering letting me start taking complaints from people. I know that I wasn't excited about this job at first, but it's growing on me.

I pull my drifting thoughts back as I pile the food onto two plates. I grab some silverware out of a drawer and go into the dining room. I set the plates down and sit. Bigby makes his way to the table, mumbles a 'thanks' and then starts eating. Once we're both done eating I take the dishes into the kitchen and stack them on the counter. I pile the other dishes up there as well and fill one sink with hot water and soap. As I wait for the sink to fill I lean my back against the far counter.

"Want some help?" Bigby asks. I glance over at him and smile.

"Sure." I say. He walks closer and I turn off the water. We make quick work of the dishes, with me washing and him drying. When we're done I empty the sink and walk out of the kitchen. I grab my heeled boots from the door way and begin to tug them on. Bigby lights a smoke and looks at me as I stumble a little. My balance is off today apparently.

"When do you wanna head out?" I ask him after I finish putting my boots on.

"In a bit. But there's something I want to talk to you about first." He says. I motion for him to continue. "There's this.. event happening on Sunday night." He says. An event? That piques my interest.

"What kind of event?" I inquire.

"It's a celebration to mark the anniversary of when we all came here." He explains. "Anyway, we'll have to go just in case anything happens. When you get that many fables in a room together..." He trails off. No explanation needed there. From some of what I've seen personally I can tell that tensions run pretty high between certain people.

"Sounds pretty fun." I say with a smile. "Anything I should know before hand?" I question.

"Well, that's mainly what I wanted to talk to you about. It's more of a formal thing. So I talked Snow into loaning you a dress and some jewelry. She wants you to go with her after work today." He says. I think about it and nod.

"Okay. I could also try and pick up a few extra clothes while I'm there." I say. He nods. We finish getting ready for work and then head out.

* * *

 ***Later that day.***

I let out a sigh of relief as the last person walks out of the door to the office. What a day it's been! We've been called out of the office three times, had to write reports on all that, and then we had the usual people coming in and out of here. I have been running back and forth between the two offices like crazy. Papers needed to be given to Snow, Bigby had to sign something, blah blah blah. I'm feeling pretty tired, but I know that the day isn't over. I still have to go up to Snows place. I'm feeling pretty excited about it. The only places I've been to in this building are Bigby's place, the office, and the lobby. So I'm pretty curious as to what's in store for me.

"Hey, are you ready?" Snow says as she stands in the hallway outside. I smile.

"Yea. Just let me take care of this really quick." I say as I finish straightening up some papers on the desk. I stand and wave to Bigby before I head off with Snow. She doesn't say anything at first, and I don't really mind. I haven't spent a whole lot of time with Snow, but Bigby's told me pretty good things about her. We get onto the elevator and she pushes the button. The trip up to the top floor is short and before I know it we're stepping off of the elevator and into a hallway.

Snow walks ahead of me and I follow her quietly. As we walk I notice how different this hallway looks from the one downstairs. You can tell that the upkeep is held to a higher standard up here. The carpet doesn't have a single stain on it, and there's even some nice paintings on the walls. I feel like I've stepped into a completely different world. Snow stops in front of her door and unlocks it. She steps inside and I follow, closing the door behind me.

Once I'm inside the apartment I look around in awe. This place is gorgeous! The apartments pretty big, which is a shock. I guess I just assumed that all of the apartments would be roughly the same size. Everywhere I look there's expensive furniture and all of it has an antique appeal to it. Decorations that look like something you'd see in the Victorian era are all over the place. There's even a marble fireplace. I don't mean to gawk, but this is seriously amazing. I honestly didn't expect anything less from Snow White though. She gives off this are of sophistication, so it makes sense that she would have a grand apartment.

"This is amazing! I don't think I've ever been in a place this nice." I compliment. She looks over her shoulder at me and smiles.

"Thank you. I don't have many guests up here lately, so please excuse me if my manners are a little off." She says and I laugh a little.

"I've been living with Bigby. There's nothing you could do to upset me." I say.

"Right." Snow says, giving me a short nod. "Anyway, shall we get started?" She suggest.

"Sure." I say and then follow her through the apartment. We enter her bedroom and she goes to a closet that's about the size of a small bedroom. She begins pulling out a few different dresses, each in a protective bag. She lays them out on the bed and then tells me to try this and that one. I listen to her and I can't help but feeling a little like Cinderella. Every dress is beautiful, but I feel like I can't do justice to most of them. I'm just not that used to wearing fancy clothes. Plus I'm not exactly the most beautiful girl around. I wouldn't say that I'm ugly though. Maybe just somewhere in between?

After I've tried on about twenty different dresses, Snow decides on a midnight blue satin gown. I take the dress off and carefully put it back into the dress bag. After that's done Snow practically drags me over to her dresser. She opens up a jewelry box and begins to hold necklaces up to my throat. She settles on a simple necklace with a single sapphire that's going to hang down past my collarbone. She then pulls out a pair of earrings to match. I'm filling pretty overwhelmed at this point. I'm worried that I'll ruin or lose something of hers. I would feel absolutely horrible!

"Alright, now onto shoes." She says happily and walks back over to her closet.

"Thanks by the way. I really appreciate you letting me borrow all of this." I say as I walk up beside her.

"I don't mind. I have more clothes than I can even wear. Besides I used to love doing things like this with my sister." She says, and I smile down at her.

"I didn't know that you had a sister." I remark. She pulls a few pairs of shoes out and sighs.

"Yea. Not many people do anymore. We don't really talk much." Snow says and I catch a hint of sadness in her voice. I frown. I want to know, but decide that it's none of my business. So I try to change the subject.

"So, what's this party going to be like?" I ask. She looks between two pairs of shoes before she decides on a strappy black pair. She starts putting the other shoes away as she talks.

"Well, there's food and dancing, of course. There's also going to be fables from all over the world. We all come together to remember the hardships that we endured before and after we came here. It can get messy having that many conflicting people in one room though. That's why we need you and Bigby there, but I doubt that anything to bad will happen." She says and stands.

"That sounds like fun. I'm looking foreword to it." I say with a smile.

"It is pretty fun. And you'll be able to meet King Cole." She says. Oh yes, I forgot about him. Apparently he runs the entire community. I've never actually met him though. Snow and I begin collecting all of the things she's letting me borrow for Sunday night, plus a few other things she set aside for me to wear up until then. Since there's too much of it for me to carry all the way back downstairs by myself, Snow comes with me back to the apartment.

Bigby's sitting at the table when we enter the apartment. He gets up and offers to take some stuff off of our hands, which we willingly give him. We get everything into the bedroom and Snow says goodnight. After she leaves I sigh and rub the back of my neck. A shower sounds amazing before bed. I go back into the bedroom and dig through some clothes until I find something suitable for sleeping. As I pass the living room I already see Bigby dozing off in his armchair.

I turn on the hot water and quickly get undressed. I stand underneath the hot water and let it warm my skin. My mind goes blank as I wash my hair and body. After I get out and towel myself down I slip on a silk nightgown and pick up my other clothes. I take quite steps back to the bedroom so I don't disturb Bigby. Once I'm there I throw my clothes on the pile in the corner and slip into the bed. I feel safe and comfortable as I slip off to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N There you have it. I hope you had as much fun reading this chapter as I did writing it. Let me know what ya think, and always stay awesome!**


	9. At the party

**A/N Hey guys. I just wanted to mention really quick that I've read only a few of the comics for this series. That's why I'm mainly basing things off of the game. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 ***Bigby's POV***

"Are you going to be ready anytime soon?" I ask, knocking on the bathroom door. "We're going to be late."

"Five more minutes!" Rieka shouts at me through the door. I grunt in disbelief. She said that ten minutes ago. Why on earth does it take women so long to get ready? I grab my smokes off the table and take one out of the pack. I light it and put the pack in my back pocket. I take a seat at the table and stare at the minutes passing by. Yes, we're defiantly going to be late. I curse under my breath, and stand back up. I walk to the bathroom door, but just as I'm about to knock, it opens.

Rieka steps out of the bathroom and I'm overwhelmed by the smell of lilacs. Her hair is pulled back into a messy, but elegant looking, bun. A few strands of hair are left free of the bun and now hang down by her face. Her eyes are outlined with black liner that ends in a wing. Her eyeshadow is dark blue at the far side of her lids and steadily gets lighter as it moves towards her nose. There's just a hint of glitter so it's not overdone. She's applied a humble amount of make up on the rest of her face. Her lips are tinted just a shade or two darker than normal and there's a light blush on her cheek.

I take a step backwards so I can admire her in her entirety. Her gown has a sweetheart neckline and the fabric forms to her upper body. A stand of fabric separates the bodice from the skirt, which flows more freely from her body. The dress ends a an inch above her ankles in the front and tappers down to the floor in the back. A single sapphire necklace hangs just past her collarbone, while to sapphire studs hang in her ears. Overall she's absolutely stunning. I'm left nearly speechless as she twirls in front of me so I can look at her.

"What do you think?" She asks, tilting her head.

"I, uh.. You look gorgeous. Absolutely stunning.." I mutter. She smiles.

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself, you know." She says. I scratch the back of my neck.

* * *

 ***Rieka's POV***

Bigby has always been rather handsome but in more of a rugged way, but this is different. He looks like he just stepped off of some magazine cover or something. I mean just wow. He's wearing a black tux with only one button done up. The pants are tailored perfectly while the jacket is a little loose. He's wearing his usual tie and white shirt underneath the coat and his hair is it's usual messy self. To me it's the perfect mix of formal and casual. I absolutely love it! I honestly have no way of describing how good this man looks to me right now.

"Alright, alright. Enough gawking at each other." Bigby says with a laugh. "We gotta get going."

"Yea, yea. Haven't you heard of being fashionably late?" I ask as we walk out of the apartment. He shakes his head and chuckles. I feel excitement bubbling up in my chest, and I giddily bounce up and down as we ride the elevator down to the lobby. I've never really been to anything like this so I'm sure I'll be absolutely enthralled by everything. I can't wait to dance and talk with all of the people that I know now. I'm especially looking forward to seeing how Snow looks. She's normally very beautiful, but I bet that all eyes are going to be on her tonight.

"So, where is this place again?" I ask Bigby as we get off of the elevator and make our way out onto the street. Nobody ever really told me where this shindig is going to go down.

"You'll see." He says as he signals for a cab. One pulls up to the curb and Bigby opens the door for me. I blush a little and get in. He follows suit and gives the driver an address that I don't recognize. I stare out of the window at all of the passing buildings for a moment then glance at Bigby. He's also staring out of the window but I think he's more lost in though than anything else. He seems a lot less excited about tonight then I am, but I know that he's probably been to about a hundred of these things. I guess that anything can start to feel normal after awhile.

I cross one leg over another and look back out of the window. I let my mind drift off as I wait for us to arrive. After what feels like forever, we finally pull up in front of a huge building. Bigby get's out of the cab first and I follow him. He pays the driver and then smiles at me as he offers his arm to me. I make a comment about how he's being such a gentleman as I loop my arm around his. We walk arm in arm up the steps and into the building. After we enter the building he leads us down a luxurious hallway and then into a huge room filled with people. I recognize a few of them, but the majority I don't.

Nobody really seems to be paying us any mind as we walk through the crowd. I glance around the room and try to find a familiar face. That's when I see Snow standing by a group of gorgeous women. Snow has chosen to wear a tight black dress that I adore on her. Her hair is intricately braided and styled into a bun. Bigby notices me staring and we start walking towards her. As we get closer Snow catches eye of us and waves one hand in a very dignified way. The group of women that she's with stare at me with curiosity.

"I'm so glad that the two of you are here!" Snow say as we approach. I smile at her before she turns to the group and gestures to me. "I'd like you all to meet Rieka. She's been working with Bigby for about a week now. Rieka, I'd like you to meet Briar Rose, Rapunzel, and you already know Beauty." She says.

"Nice to meet you." I tell the group. They all smile at me politely but I feel like Snow and Beauty are the only two who are genuinely happy to see me. We chat back and forth for a few minutes until someone else approaches.

"Good evening ladies. Bigby." The man says. He's tall and wearing a suit that seems a little too tailor in my opinion. He's bald but has a well groomed beard on his face. One earing dangles from his right ear. The atmosphere of our little 'group' changes instantly. I've never seen this guy before but even I can tell he's a trouble maker. "And this must be Bigby's new partner. Everyone has been talking about you me dear." He says after laying eyes on me.

"That's me.. Who are you?" I ask. He scoffs as if I offended him.

"You may call me Bluebeard." He answers. I nod, but don't say anything further. This guy's giving me the major creeps, but I have no idea why. I glance at Bigby who looks.. Intense. This just further proves my bad feelings for this guy. I try to start up a conversation with Beauty, but Bluebeard pipes back up before we can actually get anywhere.

"Anyway, I've come over to ask Rieka for a dance. I've been dying to meet you ever since words spread about you." He says as he extends his towards me. I look at it for a few seconds. I don't really want to dance with this guy, but I don't really think I can tell him no either. I don't know the proper etiquette for that and I don't want to make a fool of myself. I swear to myself before I look back up at him.

"Just one." I say a little too coldly. I take his hand and he all but pulls me away from the group. He decides that we'll dance in the middle of the floor. He pulls me a little to close to himself and his hands grip my roughly. I wonder what's up with this dude. I follow him as he moves us around and around. I have no idea what I'm doing so this seemed like the safest bet. He makes a few snide comments about the people around us, but I don't respond. I'll just be glad when this is all over.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" I hear and look to the side. Bigby is standing close to us with he's hand outstretched.

"Not at all!" I say before Bluebeard can say anything. I'm overwhelmingly happy when Bluebear releases me from his grip. I take Bigby's hand and for some reason I don't mind it when he pulls me close to him.

"Thank you." I whisper once Bluebeard is out of earshot. Bigby smiles at me warmly.

"No need for thanks. I was going to ask you to dance anyway." He comments and I blush. As we begin to dance everything else in the room seems to fade away. I may have not been too fond of this guy in the beginning but I have to admit that he's growing on me. I stare up into his eyes as we dance and I feel my head getting dizzy in the best way. After the dance ends we stand there hold each other for another second or two before we separate. I didn't want to let go of him to be honest.

The rest of the night passes in a blur of activity. Many of the Fables introduce themselves to me and I do likewise. There's drinking and toasts in small groups. I dance a few more times with Bigby, and he dances with Snow a couple of times. We eat and drink some more. By the end of the night my mind is so blurred by the alcohol that I don't even realize that we're in a cab until we're back at the woodlands. I heavily lean on Bigby as we make our way to the apartment.

After we're inside Bigby helps me into the bedroom and tells me to get dressed for bed. I manage to get my hair out of the bun and my shoes off, but I find it hard to unzip the dress in my drunken state. I yell for Bigby and he comes in looking confused.

"I need help with the dress." I slur and point to the zipper on the back. He doesn't say anything as he helps me out of the dress. I throw it to the side and look around for more clothes. But I already feel hot and stuffy, so I decide to just sleep in my bra and underwear. I look at Bigby and see that he's still in his tux. I move closer to him and begin tugging at his clothes. His hands grip at my wrists, stopping my hand movements.

"What are you doing?" He asks and I can't tell if he's mad or not. Besides I'm too drunk to care.

"You're still dressed for the party.." I comment and try to help him out of his clothes. His hands hold tight on my wrists.

"Stop.. You are extremely drunk and I don't think you realize what your doing." He says and I pout.

"Fine. Suit yourself." I huff and collapse on the bed. I stare at Bigby who's looking down at me.

"Hey.. Sleep in here tonight, please?" I ask as I roll onto my side. I can already feel my mind fading into black as I feel the matters sink under the weight of someone else.

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 **A/N There you go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry if it seem rushed towards the end. I just really wanted to have it up by today. Anyway, Stay Awesome!**


	10. The morning after

**A/N Hello to all of you! I hope that you enjoy this chapter, and I'm sorry that it's a bit shorter than normal.**

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 ***Rieka's POV***

A content sigh escapes my lips as my eyes flutter open and close. Last night was pretty fun, even if it did get a little blurry towards the end there. There was so much to see and do. I don't think I've ever danced that much in my entire life. At least not in one sitting that is. Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves, or I think they did. I'm not really sure because of the sheer number of fables that attended. I don't even remember half of the people that introduced themselves to me. There were way to many names being thrown at me last night.

Thankfully my hangovers are more of a delayed reaction. I'm sure that later on today I'll feel the effects, but for now I'm happy to just lay here for a few more minutes. I'm sure Bigby will be knocking on that door any time to tell me to get up. I lean further back against the blankets and pillows that are warming me up.. Wait.. What? My eyes snap open. I look over my shoulder as carefully as I can, and sure enough Bigby is sleeping next to me.

Trying to stay as calm as I can, I carefully lift the blankets. One of Bigby's arms is resting over my waist and I'm honestly not even surprised to find myself only wearing a bra and underwear. I lower the blanket, and begin to mentally freak the fuck out. How drunk was I last night? I can only remember have two or three drinks, which isn't usually enough to get me totally wasted. The only answer that I can even think up is that fable alcohol must be a lot stronger than the Mundie versions.

My body goes stiff as I feel Bigby stir behind me. His arm tightens around me a little and pulls me ever so slightly closer to him. Even though this was really unexpected, I have to admit that I could be in a way worse situation. Not to mention that I have kind of had the hotts for him the past few days. I don't know a single girl that would spend this much time with him and not come to a similar conclusion. Yes, I have to admit it to myself that I'm undeniably attracted to the Big Bad Wolf. So perhaps the situation that drunk me got into last night isn't so bad?

I try to focus on that thought, but I have a sinking feeling in my gut that reminds me of the truth. By the end of the week, I'm going to forget about all of this. I won't remember who this man is or any of the crap I've been through.. That thought actually makes me feel a little depressed. It's funny actually. I couldn't wait to get out of this hell hole in the beginning, but now I don't want to leave. I doubt they would let me stay though. A Mundie has no place in this world. This is only going to end badly.. But if I won't remember any of this, would it really hurt to embrace the feelings that I have now? Ugh, to many conflicting thoughts are going through my head!

"We have to be up soon.." Bigby grumbles from behind me, which draws my attention back to the situation at hand.

"How long have you been awake?" I ask. I tried to make it sound cool, but it came out as awkward as could be.

"Five minutes or so.." He says groggily. "Long enough to see the wheels turning in your head." He adds as an after thought. He seems a little too calm.

"How are you not freaking out, even a little?" I ask, eyebrows furrowed.

"Why are _you_ freaking out so much?" He counters. I think on that for a second. Maybe I shouldn't be freaking out as much? Hell that might even make things less awkward between the two of us. I'll stop overthinking this and just enjoy it.

One of my hands finds Bigby's and I entangle our fingers together. He doesn't object, so I decide to push a little further and lean farther into him. The warmth radiating off of him combined with the feeling of his muscles against my back make me feel dazed. He moves his head to nuzzle against the back of my neck, and his beard barely scratches my skin. It sends goose bumps along my skin and a tingle shoots up my spine. I bite my lip and roll over to look at him. My heart pounds in my chest as I do.

He resituates his hand so that it's gripping my hip lightly, and I rest mine on his chest. Our faces are inches apart and all I want to do is close that gap. I have nothing to lose now, so I throw caution to the wind and do so. He meets me halfway and I feel a jolt of electricity when our lips meet. His lips are a little rough, but they feel amazing against mine. The kiss is soft, sweet, and short. I pull back just a little so I can see his face. My eyes search his for what feels like forever. I feel intoxicated by this moment.

He pulls me back into another kiss without warning, but I'm not going to complain. This kiss is more passionate than the first by far, and it's also a little rougher. My hand moves up to his shoulder on it's own accord, and I use that as leverage to pull him closer to me. There's still way to much space between the two of us. I bite at his bottom lip, which makes him growl in the hottest way imaginable. I release his bottom lip and he take the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth. We explore each other's mouths and our tongues dance together. After a few moments of this we pull back for air. I smirk at him.

"So.. Do you think we can be a little late to work today?" I ask sensually. He answers by flipping us over and kissing me again.

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 **A/N There you have it. I'm sorry, but I don't want to actually write the smexy times between this two. Instead, I'll let your imaginations take it from here. ;) Stay awesome!**


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